Sleeping in the same bed
Several people did not rest all night. Although Ruyan Tower was temporarily closed, they had more money than half a month ago, so they found a better inn to rest.
Qu Yi bought a lot of breakfast, including meat buns, fried cakes, steamed buns, pastries, etc.
Xu Lian took a piece of cake and tasted it slowly. Xu Ning's heart was beating fast, her eyelids were heavy, and she was too excited. She mechanically ate a few bites of the bun. She felt that if she didn't go to bed, she would die suddenly.
Sure enough, when a person is extremely tired, he will not be scared even if he has just experienced a bloody crime.
The rain in winter is heavy and scattered. It is just the hour of Mao now and there are not many people on the street, only two or three people selling breakfast.
Xu Ning lay in bed, trying harder to fall asleep. Her heartbeat grew faster and faster, and the street gradually became more crowded. Xu Ning's room was close to the street, and the bustle of people was a bit noisy.
After tossing and turning several times, Xu Ning jumped up from the bed, put on her outer robe, and went to see whose room was inside and exchange rooms with that person, otherwise she would really go crazy because she couldn't sleep.
After searching around, only Tang Xixu and Zhao Mingshang's houses were inside the building.
Xu Ning knocked on the door a few times, but no one answered. Then he tiptoed to open the door a crack, and Zhao Mingchang was sleeping soundly. Xu Ning withdrew his foot, as if he and Zhao Mingchang were not familiar enough to wake her up and change beds with her.
After struggling for a while, Xu Ning finally mustered up the courage to go see if Tang Xixu was asleep. Although she felt a little embarrassed because he was a man after all, there was no way she could not fall asleep. She was afraid that she would die and be restarted.
"Knock knock knock"
The young man, napping inside, slowly opened his eyes. Inside the skin of Tang Xixu's neck, a bug-like creature was crawling. His lips were scarlet, and his pupils were darker than usual.
"Knock knock knock"
Fell asleep again?
Xu Ning gently opened the door and peeked inside. The bed was empty, and the sheets were slightly wrinkled. As the girl stepped through the door, a dagger was placed at her neck.
The cold blade lightly scratched her skin, "It's me, Xu Ning." The girl could clearly feel her skin being cut, and could also sense the cold breath of the person behind her.
Tang Xixu lowered his eyes and glanced at the person in front of him, then put away the knife.
Xu Ning let out a long sigh as the knife left his neck. The worries he'd felt from his insomnia vanished. In the face of the most immediate threat of death, everything seemed insignificant.
"Are you scared?" Tang Xixu sat down without any of the charm he had just shown.
Xu Ning had just escaped "life-threatening danger" and was still a little scared. He didn't bother to hide his feelings and said frankly, "Anyone would be scared if a knife was suddenly put to their neck, right?"
Tang Xixu chuckled and took a sip of tea: "What do you want to talk to me about?"
"I... am sensitive to sounds. My room is next to the street market, and your room happens to be inside. Can I change rooms with you?" Xu Ning felt a little embarrassed, but she was so sleepy that she couldn't think of a better way.
Tang Xixu pondered for a few seconds, then smiled and said, "It's not impossible, but you have to promise me one thing."
Xu Ning was very happy when he heard Tang Xixu agreed: "What is it? As long as it is not against ethics and morality, and does not kill people or commit crimes, I am willing to do it."
"You take a rest. I'll tell you when I have thought it through." Tang Xixu smiled secretly and left with his hands behind his back.
[Congratulations, Master! The main quest has reached 30% completion. Please keep up the good work.]
Xu Ning began to rethink the mission.
The original book is an ancient novel about robbery and plunder. Tang Xixu is just a cannon fodder tool to promote the relationship between the male and female protagonists, but from the current point of view, it seems that it is not that simple. At least the male and female protagonists do not give Xu Ning the feeling that a domineering prince falls in love with me, and the female protagonist Zhao Mingshang is definitely not a little white rabbit. As for whether she is good or bad, enemy or friend, it is still impossible to make a final conclusion.
Xu Ning has now basically given up the idea of pairing Tang Xixu with his "childhood sweetheart and white moonlight" Zhao Mingshang. To break this situation, he must first find out the truth about the extermination of Tang Xixu's family.
Just as Xu Ning was about to rest after thinking all this, something suddenly shoved into his left ear. Tang Xixu replied, "The noise from the inner room has decreased a lot, but there are still some small, subtle noises. A cotton plug would help." Tang Xixu then plugged Xu Ning's right ear before leaving.
When they woke up, it was already noon. Yuwen Xin invited everyone to Sihai Tower for dinner.
"I believe everyone is familiar with last night's case, and I have heard of your abilities. If you can help me uncover the truth, I will report it to His Majesty. A reward will be forthcoming."
Xu Lian ate silently without saying a word. Xu Ning wanted to go to Qujiazhuang to complete the mission as soon as possible and didn't want to care about this matter. Qu Yi followed the crowd, and no one knew what Zhao Mingchang was thinking.
"Okay. After the task is accomplished, we won't take credit for it. Just give us some silver as travel expenses." Tang Xixu put down his chopsticks and broke the silence at the table.
Xu Lian wiped the corner of his mouth with a handkerchief and said slowly, "I'm fine."
Yuwen Xin laughed happily upon hearing this: "Great! Then it's a deal, everyone."
Ruyan Tower.
What was once a bustling place of wine and meat last night has now become a dreaded "ruinous building." Zhao Mingchang looked at the miserable scene before him and asked, "Is the puppet show troupe still there?"
Xu Ning shook her head. "It's still there. After the incident, the technicians were knocked unconscious by the police. They're currently under government surveillance." She looked at the broken planks again. "There were three bodies on the second floor. The floor is solid, so it's unlikely that a body could have caused the planks to collapse."
Zhao Mingchang touched the collapsed area and frowned. "Redwood is very strong and has a higher strength than wood. Someone must have tampered with the floor beforehand."
"It rained last night, so it's already damp. If someone cracked the floor a little, the three male corpses stacked on top of each other might crush it." Xu Lian looked up at the still damp sky.
All the drinkers in Ruyan Tower had left, and some buildings in the building were damaged, giving a feeling of desolation as if the building was deserted.
Fang Niang stood aside and listened quietly to their analysis.
"But the three bodies were scattered when they fell, and when we just came down, the body of the dark-skinned man had just touched the ground." Qu Yi recalled the scene at that time.
Xu Ning pondered, "There weren't any heavy objects tied to the bodies, and they didn't fall all at once, but one after another. If the floor had been cracked and nearly collapsed from the start, then that's possible. The stage was only moved a short while before and after the bodies fell, and the knocks were so loud, it's impossible that no one heard them."
"I vaguely heard some 'dong dong dong' sounds, but there were only two or three of them. I thought I had misheard and didn't pay much attention to it." Qu Yi was having a great time playing Mahjong at that time.
The scene fell into silence...
"If that's the case, it can only mean that these people were knocked down by someone's palms one after another." Tang Xixu stood at the collapsed part of the second floor, looking down at the ruins below.
If a martial artist has profound internal strength, he can knock someone down the stairs with just one palm strike, let alone on a wooden board with some cracks.
"You're right. After the show, they only moved the stage away, but not the curtain. The curtain will block the view so no one can see what the people inside are doing." Xu Lian looked at the curtain that was placed aside.
The curtain is very long, as tall as two adult men, and is fully enclosed. The backstage and the curtain fit together perfectly, and nothing can be seen from the outside.
"Check to see which members of the puppet show troupe have deep inner strength."
"It's better to check everything." Yuwen Xin immediately signaled his subordinates to do it.
"Although we are gangsters, it is absolutely impossible. We were all playing Mahjong at the time, and many people can testify to that." Xu Ning hurriedly proved his innocence.
It was a cold, starless night, the moon was white and dust-free, and the bright moonlight looked like frost covering the ground.
The guard presented Yuwen Xin with a secret letter - the people are in a panic, and the case should be closed as soon as possible.
Yuwen Xin frowned and said sternly to the guards behind him: "Stop, I won't investigate anymore."
That night, Xu Ning still slept in Tang Xixu's room. Before leaving, Tang Xixu lit some calming incense for her.
The charcoal burned and the smoke curled up. Xu Ning gradually felt his eyelids heavy. He was still thinking about something in his mind, but now he felt sleepy.
Tang Xixu's bed was quite large, and Xu Ning slept in the innermost part. The girl wrapped herself tightly in the quilt, lying on her side, and gradually fell asleep.
Suddenly, there was a subtle sound in the room, and Xu Ning turned over to face outside.
Tang Xixu took off his boots and outer robe and lay down quietly. He also lay on his side, with his hands as his pillow, his face facing Xu Ning's sleeping face.
Tang Xixu had excellent vision at night. With the faint moonlight outside the window, he moved closer and could see the girl's fine eyelashes. Because Xu Ning was sleeping on her side, the flesh on her face was squeezed together. Tang Xixu gently poked her a few times and smiled like a child.
Tang Xixu could hear Xu Ning's light, shallow breathing clearly, even in the quiet of the night. He pulled some of Xu Ning's quilt over himself and tucked in the corners of her back. Tang Xixu looked at the girl with almost lustful eyes, and even leaned over to inhale the fragrance from her neck.
In fact, Xu Ning didn't have any special fragrance, but Tang Xixu liked it very much. If Xu Ning stood with other women, he could quickly identify them by their smell.
Tang Xixu smiled with satisfaction. He wanted to hold Xu Ning's hand but remembered that he had not yet obtained her permission, so he did not do so.
The sleeping man and woman under the moonlight looked like a perfect couple, and even the matchmaker was very happy.
After a dreamless night, Xu Ning woke up just in the morning. Seeing some wrinkles on the bed sheet next to her, she did not suspect anything and just thought that she had not slept well.
The case has not been closed yet, and the most important thing offline is to find the murderer who killed the other two people.
When Lu Shiren saw that it was someone from the imperial court, he treated Yuwen Xin to a meal.
"Let's not go. The prefect of Lu is looking for you." Yuwen Xin wanted to call Xu Lian and others, but Xu Ning felt a little embarrassed.
"Of course I will go. To see what the situation is like at the home of Magistrate Lu." In order to show his sincerity, this was a family dinner, and Lu Shiren invited the best chef in Linyao.
The six of them went to Lu Mansion together.
The red gate bore some marks, but with daily polishing it still looked brand new. Two ferocious-looking stone lions stood before it. The door pin was intricately carved with hexagonal patterns, and the door knocker and ring-bearing beast were pure gold. Entering the house, one could see a spacious courtyard, where rare flowers and trees were scattered in an orderly fashion. Red plum blossoms were in bloom, filling the air with a delicate fragrance. Next to the rockery, in a pavilion with a pointed roof, two or three maids chatted and laughed.
The dining area is in the main hall. The eaves of the roof add a touch of charm to the house. They are decorated with glazed tiles in various colors, such as blue and green, and with fantastical animals. There are about eight or nine animals on each roof ridge.
However, the objects displayed in the main hall are not worthy of such a grand and luxurious decoration. Cheap objects are mixed with real ones that are truly priceless.
Zhao Mingchang's frown deepened as she walked, while Qu Yi only touched an object occasionally. Xu Ning, on the other hand, internally sighed as she continued her journey. Transmigrating into a book had truly opened her eyes, a real-life office worker with a five-figure bank account.
"I didn't expect that there is such a hidden secret in the home of Governor Lu." Yuwen Xin drank a sip of tea slowly.
"I dare not, I respectfully welcome the governor to my humble home." Lu Shiren immediately began to flatter.
There were not enough stools on the dining table, so Xu Ning wanted to move one over: "Oh my God, aren't these stools made of wood? Why are they so heavy?" Xu Ning struggled to move them for a long time but still couldn't.
Several people looked over when they heard the sound. Lu Shiren glanced at the stool, his heart skipped a beat, and he took out a towel to wipe the sweat off his face.
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